A hooded robber who said he was armed with a loaded pistol tried to rob an Oldbury bank, forcing it to close for several hours.

The lone raider went up to the counter at the NatWest branch in Church Street and handed over a folded piece of paper. He demanded cash, saying that he had a loaded gun.

But he fled when staff raised the alarm after he failed to produce the weapon.

The bank was closed for four hours after the attempted robbery at around 10am yesterday.

Police forensics experts have now recovered the note passed to staff and are examining it for DNA evidence. Teams were at the branch yesterday looking for further clues.

NatWest spokesman Nigel Meffen confirmed there had been an attempted raid.

West Midlands Police spokeswoman Billy Corrigan said: “Police were called to attempted robbery at NatWest.

“A man approached staff and told them he had a loaded pistol. He handed over a folded piece of paper and demanded cash, but he did not produce any weapons so an alarm was activated at the bank.

“The letter has been recovered and is being forensically examined.”

The man is described as black, slim build and aged in his 20s. He was about 5ft 7in anjd wore a dark jacket, black jeans and a grey woollen hood.

Balbir Singh Bassi, postmaster at the nearby Birmingham Street Post Office for the past eight years, said the area had seen a number of attempted robberies over the years and called for greater CCTV coverage.

Mr Singh Bassi said: “It’s a shame to see this sort of thing happening around here. It is not the first time though. My post office was robbed a couple of years ago.”

Witnesses should call police on 0345 113 5000.